Tag: houthis

I'm going to be away for most of the next two weeks so these will be our last major updates until July 5. SYRIA Israel on Sunday launched a Patriot missile at a Syrian drone it says was about to cross into Israeli airspace. The missile missed and the drone apparently turned back on its … Continue reading Middle East update: June 23-24 2018

SYRIA Syrian artillery struck more targets in the rebel-held southwest on Thursday, and it seems as though Bashar al-Assad has finally committed to that area as his next target. Thousands of civilians have reportedly begun fleeing parts of Daraa province in anticipating of a government offensive there. The Syrian military appears to be focusing its … Continue reading Middle East update: June 21 2018

SYRIA Syrian and Iraqi paramilitary groups say that the US-led coalition attacked them late Sunday night. The groups say that drones, which they believe to belong to the US, struck a Syrian military base near the border town of al-Harra, southeast of al-Bukamal, at around 10 PM. The Iraqis claim the attack killed 22 of … Continue reading Middle East update: June 16-18 2018

SYRIA According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Syrian rebels launched new attacks overnight on the predominantly Shiʿa Idlib province towns of Fuʿah and Kefraya, but were driven back. Rebels have been besieging both towns for over three years. The Syrian Democratic Council, which is the political wing of the YPG-led Syrian Democratic Forces organization, says … Continue reading Middle East update: June 9-10 2018

SYRIA US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu have reportedly reached agreement on a "roadmap" for the Kurdish-occupied Syrian town of Manbij after a meeting in Washington on Monday. It's unclear what exactly the roadmap entails beyond a phased YPG withdrawal from Manbij--it's hard to imagine Turkey agreeing to anything less--with … Continue reading Middle East update: June 4 2018

SYRIA An anonymous "pro-Assad commander" in Syria says that the Syrian army is ready to invade Daraa. The United States says it better not. Russia says only the army itself should invade, without its Iran-backed allies. Rebels in the southwest Syrian enclave say they see no sign that the army is preparing to invade and … Continue reading Middle East update: May 29 2018

SYRIA A group of ISIS fighters attacked a Syrian military position in Deir Ezzor province overnight and, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, killed 35 pro-government troops including nine Russian soldiers--not contractors, but actually active duty soldiers. Russia's defense ministry has acknowledged four Russian deaths in the attack, which it says also left … Continue reading Middle East update: May 26-27 2018